


Excalibur : Missing

by AlexFierra201



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Angst, Excalibur, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, He also needs a new weapon, Jim Lake Jr. Needs a Hug (Tales of Arcadia), Jim-centric, New York City, Oooh Jim Barbara's gonna kill you when she sees that, Post-Canon, Post-Wizards (Tales of Arcadia), Troll Jim Lake Jr., Troll Tattoos, Wizard Claire Nunez (Tales of Arcadia)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexFierra201/pseuds/AlexFierra201
Summary: “Not that I’m bothered by you lot poppin' round, but why’d you need to see us?”Jim watched as Toby cleared his throat, face turning serious. “It's a bit of a long story, Doux,” He started awkwardly, drumming his fingers on the table whilst he searched for a way to tell Douxie without shocking him too badly. Before he spoke, he took in a deep breath, grimacing. “Someone’s stolen Excalibur.”------OR,After the battle with the Arcane order, Jim returns as a half-troll, not human, Douxie, Nari, and Archie begin their evasion of the Order, and everything seems to settle down for a bit.Until someone steals Excalibur.The Trollhunting Trio make their way to New York to meet with their friends, and hopefully to find a way to find this sword-napping theif.
Relationships: Archie & Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Nari, Archie & Nari (Tales of Arcadia), Archie and His Hatred of Water (Tales of Arcadia), Blinkous "Blinky" Galadrigal & Jim Lake Jr., Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Claire Nuñez, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Jim Lake Jr., Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Toby Domzalski, Jim Lake Jr. & Claire Nuñez, Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nuñez, Toby Domzalski & Claire Nuñez, Toby Domzalski & Jim Lake Jr., Toby Domzalski & Jim Lake Jr. & Claire Nuñez
Comments: 13
Kudos: 42





	1. NYC Gang, Part One

**Author's Note:**

> As I mentioned in the summary, when Jim came back to life it was as a half-troll, not human. I really liked the show's ending, but human Jimbo just didn't really work for my story.
> 
> This takes place a month or so after the end of Wizards, in October, roughly.

The streets of NYC were _loud,_ bustling and packed so that each pedestrian seemed insignificant when compared to the rest. Feet pounded on the gum-spotted pavement like elephants, storming in one direction intensely along with a whole pack of other people. Though the sun had since set and the sky was blue and black, it was as well-lit as it had been in the daytime, due to the enormous amounts of artificial lights. Lamp lights. Car lights. Window lights. Shop lights. Neon bar-sign lights that flashed to grab the attention of passer-bys. All in an array of autumnal orange, crimson red, forest green, cerulean blue, pinky-purple, and neon yellow.

Jim didn’t know if it was because of troll eyes being programmed to prefer the darkness, or just his general anxiety about being surrounded by so many people, but the blinding lights were really beginning to irritate him.

Wherever Douxie, Nari, and Archie were hiding out must’ve been heavily warded, since Claire tried and failed to get Douxie’s exact location and use it as an emotional anchor. As such, they had resorted to a gyre ride, leaving them in the _beautiful_ sewers and electrical tunnels of Manhattan. Eventually, after many wrong turns and questionable smells, they’d found their way to the surface, and were navigating streets to get to the address they’d been given.

Someone bumped into Jim's shoulder, and he barely managed to contain a growl of annoyance. He kept having to remind himself - _one wrong slip up, and you could be revealing Trollkind to New York City._

Jim was dressed in grey sweatpants and a blue T-shirt, covered by a navy oversized hoodie which was large enough to flip over his horns, keeping his face from view. To cover his stone hands, he wore a pair of black gloves, one of which with a finger cut off and the hole sewn up so that it actually fit him. Each time someone bustled past, getting a little too close for comfort, he couldn’t stop the swell of anxiety that bubbled up, the worry that they would see something they shouldn’t. The only things keeping him calm were Toby’s presence at his left, and Claire’s at his right. Her thin and tiny fingers were encapsulated with his own, five intertwining with four. From his height, the only things he could see were the top of their heads - one ginger and slicked to the sides, the other brunette and partially-covered by strands of snow-white.

So he tried to delve into his head, ignoring the surroundings and allowing himself to be led by Claire’s hand. Car engines faded to background noise. Neon lights became dull flickers in his periphery. The scratchiness of the hood rubbing along his horns became softer, almost unnoticeable.

It was a relief, when they entered a quieter area, streets thinner and sparsely populated. A few cars drove past them, maybe a motorbike or two, but at long enough intervals that it wasn’t overwhelming. Eventually the shops disappeared until all there was was a corner store between housing, selling snacks, newspapers, tobacco, and booze. He could smell the smouldering of a cigarette bum as they went past, the putrid scent wafting through the air.

Claire squeezed his hand, and smiled up at him. She had dark circles under her eyes, generally looking tired all over. Her shoulders sagged, her pupils lost focus, and each step she took looked heavier than the last. However, just the sight of those warm brown orbs were enough to lessen the edge he felt from being around so many humans, enough to warm him up even though each breath he took came out as dragon's breath.

It seemed his best friend had sensed his anxiety too. Toby nudged him in the ribs, having to angle his elbow upwards to do so before running ahead. “Don’t worry Jimbo, Douxie’s place is just around- Aha!” They turned a corner, and Toby pointed an accusing finger at one of the buildings.

It was only four storeys tall, short when compared to some of the other ones he’d seen, and made of copper-red bricks stacked misaligned. Up a set of three stone steps was a blue door, paint flaking and peeling around a bronze door-knocker in the shape of a lion. A single, flickering fluorescent light blinked above the porch, painting the scene yellow. In curling, green paint, the words _‘ Bea’s boarding rooms available for rent ‘_ were written on the door.

Claire knocked on the door with three raps, letting go of Jim’s hand to do so. He felt a pang of anxiousness as he lost contact, waiting _ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty_ seconds before the door eventually opened.

A short and stout woman, with dark skin and tightly-curled black hair that poofed about her head in the shape of a cloud opened the door, delightedly grinning at them with pearly whites. Her skin was wrinkled and sagged at the joints, around her face, stretched and scars from years of simply living. A white cotton button-up shirt was undone at the wrists, stained in at least four different places that Jim could see. Heart-printed apron hung off her neck, tied loosely around her waist and splattered with flour. 

Her eyes seemed to rest on each of the three teenagers on her doorstep for an indeterminable amount of time, causing him to hang his head lower, just to make sure she couldn't see his face. Jim wondered what she saw - one sweet-looking girl, one nerdy looking ginger kid, and some suspicious looming guy behind them with his face hidden by a hoodie. What a stellar impression. When he took an involuntary sniff of the air he smelled _fish, potatoes, butter, carrots, onio-_

“Oh, you must be Douxie’s friends!” She said with a grin, and stepped out of the way, beckoning them to come inside as she held the door open. Her voice was low and an English accent, rolling off her tongue in happy trills.

Claire was the first to go in, politely smiling at the Jolly old woman with kind eyes. Toby and Jim made a brief flicker of eye contact, Jim trying to communicate to him _Tobes what if she finds out about trolls this could go horribly wro-_

But Toby grabbed onto Jim’s wrist softly and dragged him in, saying hi to who he could only assume was the ‘Bea’ mentioned on the door.

There wasn’t much room, just a corridor and a staircase with white railings, and a line of hooks in the wall to the left of the door. From somewhere, there was a faint whistling of a kettle. It was an effort to get everyone inside before she could shut out the cold. Bea was still smiling lovingly with her hands balanced on her hips, lips painted a light red. When she reached out an arm for Toby’s orange coat, her sleeves rolled up, and Jim noticed a set of swirling light green lines trailing across her forearms. “Come on, let me take your coats, kids,”

Both Claire and Toby gave her their lightweight coats with a series of crinkling sounds, purple and orange respectively, and she hung them over her arm before looking Jim up and down in an exaggerated manner. “Well. Ain’t you tall,” She noted, surprised. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna take your jacket - it’s bad manners to keep one on inside.” Bea berated, wagging a finger at him.

Claire looked as though she was about to protest, no doubt about to go on some spiel about why it was perfectly natural for her boyfriend to cover his face with a hood at all times when Bea's eyes flashed a dark blue, and the coats floated by themselves off her arm to the hooks on the wall.

Everyone froze in shock. When they had talked on the phone, Douxie hadn’t mentioned his landlord being a _witch_.

Toby gasped audibly. “ _Awesomesauce…_ ” He whispered like a little kid.

Bea chuckled, eyes going back to their normal deep brown. “Don’t worry kid, I know perfectly well what a troll looks like, and I can handle it. Now come on, give me your jacket,” She held out a hand expectantly.

Slowly, Jim grabbed the edge of the hoodie that fell just below his waist, pulling it up over his head and taking extra care not to get it tangled in his horns. The way Bea looked at him was unfazed, as if half-trolls walking into her house was a rather regular occurrence. When Jim placed the hoodie in her hand, she patted him on the arm, making a sandy sound of skin against sort-of-stone.

“Thanks Kid, and don’t worry - no one in my boarding house is exactly normal, so you’ve got nothing to hide, okay?” She turned around and hung up his hoodie by hand.

“O-okay, thanks, uh, Miss.” He stuttered out, focused on taking off his gloves and stuffing them into the pocket of his sweats.

“What room is Douxie staying in? And may I say, I don’t know what you’re cooking, but it smells _delicious!_ ” Toby sniffed the air with a ditzy smile on his face, smelling the wafts of some sort of fish, cod, probably, floating down the corridor.

She waved him off playfully. “ _Now,_ complimenting my food is not gonna get you any extra - and your friends are in the kitchen helping out with dinner.” As she headed down the corridor, her legs moved jittery, as if filled with much more energy than they should have been. Clutching once more unto Claire’s hand, they followed her, passing pink and white striped wallpaper and framed portraits of cats, varying from black and white to impeccable clarity.

Claire whispered to him, tugging on his hand to get his attention. “I think I like her,” she whispered.

He smirked in reply, and gestured with a blue thumb at the feline portraits. “Yeah, she seems pretty cool, though I’m not sure about all these cats.” She giggled at what he said, but agreed silently that their beady eyes seemed to follow her as she moved. His hand felt pleasantly cool in hers, arm often brushing against her bare shoulder, what with the sleeveless pink Papa Skull shirt she wore.

The door to the kitchen was low, low enough that JIm had to duck to get through it, leading into a brightly-lit, cluttered kitchen. The tiles were a check of black, white, black, white, mismatched with the baby-blue, wooden cupboards and shelving. An old-fashioned white gas oven sat in the corner, right next to a porcelain sink and a drying rack. Bubbling and boiling, a glass covered pot sat on the stove. Upon the counter were an assortment of jars, ranging from coffee beans to dried tea leaves in their contents. Right in the middle was a mahogany dining table, long enough to seat eight people - three on each side, and one on each end.

However, only one of the seats was currently in use, taken up by a little green demigod, tap, tap, tapping away on her phone and smiling. Jim almost didn’t recognise her at a first glance, dressed in a mundane cotton shirt and jeans. Six places were set with red candy-striped plates.

Slipping off his bag from his shoulder, he placed it on the ground in the corner, out of the way.

Douxie was staring intently at the kettle, as if his gaze would make it boil faster, an incredibly bored look on his face. He looked on the brink of falling asleep right there and then. Instantly, as soon as he saw their arrival his eyes brightened, and he leaped at them, attempting to hug them all at the same time. “You’re here! Oh, man, I’ve missed you guys!”

They all laughed, and Jim stopped Douxie’s attempts to wrap his arms around all of them by using his own arms to do it, which were the only ones long enough to fit around three human teens successfully. It felt really nice, smothered by the warmth of friends.

Douxie was in very different clothes to the last time that Jim saw him - a pair of ripped black skinny jeans and a green sweater that dangled past his fingertips, fuzzy socks coating his long feet. (Thankfully, the man-bun was no more) He stepped back and looked them over. “You guys want to sit down for some dinner?” He asked in an upbeat voice, smirking and gesturing to the table.

On cue, Claire and Toby’s stomachs rumbled, causing Douxie to snigger. Toby looked down at his belly like it had betrayed him. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

The chairs were high-backed and wooden, the seating part covered by a cushion tied onto it. Jim’s was blue and polka-dotted, soft and almost like memory foam underneath him. He sighed into it, getting comfy next to Nari, who was still scrolling through her phone. Raising one eyebrow he leaned over to look at the screen closer, squinting at the brightness.

“That’s uh-that’s a lot of trees.” Behind him, the kettle made a bubbling noise, steam pouring upwards from the spout. 

She beamed at him with huge eyes, thin lips curled up at the edges. When she spoke, her voice was echoing, as if she were in an acoustic room instead of an oddly-designed kitchen. “I know! Douxie has introduced me to the _Pin-ter-est!_ ” Giddily, she showed him the small screen, pointing at a photo of some birches with sunlight streaming amongst its leaves. “Aren’t these photos so pretty?”

He could only nod, agreeing with her. An ancient demigod becoming integrated with modern social media - If anyone had told Jim that was possible only a few months ago, he never would have believed them.

Claire and Toby sat opposite him, along with Douxie, who sipped his fragranced tea, sighing in pleasure. Bea potted around the kitchen, opening the oven door with a wave of heat and withdrawing a tray of white fish fillets.

“How long have you been staying here, Teach?” Claire asked, leaning her face against her hand and turned towards Douxie. She had deep blue circles under her eyes, and the bun her hair was in was messily sloped to one side, yet she still managed to look soft and inviting.

(Over the period of time where she left for New Jersey, got sent back in time, fought the Arcane Order, and revived her boyfriend from the dead, she had steadily adopted more and more of a punk style. Ripped jeans and shirts with the sleeves jaggedly cut off had become favourite outfit pieces of hers, coinciding with the silver ring piercing high up her ear. Matching with the pink of her shirt were her nails, trimmed shorter than most and covered by neon pink. Though it had not been intentional, the white hair was slowly spreading through her roots, and Jim had no doubt in time it would be entirely frozen white.)

“Pretty much since after the battle - Bea’s an old friend, so she didn’t mind letting us stay here for a while.” Bea chuckled at that, leaning over him to place a platter of fish and vegetables on the table, heavenly scents wafting from it. Well, heavenly scents for everyone else. It smelt as unappetizing to Jim as a sock would smell to a human. Not that he ate socks - that was one line he was _not_ willing to cross over.

The old woman noticed how his nose scrunched up at the food on impulse, though he tried to be polite as everyone else shovelled food onto their plates. Toby and Douxie wasted no time snatching up the largest pieces of fish, and Nari switched off her phone, using green tendrils of magic to levitate the vegetables onto her plate. Her mouth was full of sharp teeth as she devoured the food like a starved animal voraciously. Claire, ever the politician’s daughter, waited for Bea to sit down before serving herself any food, subtly watching her boyfriend with concern.

Before Jim could ask Bea if she had any old cutlery she wouldn’t mind him disposing of, she came over with a bowl and the pot that had been on the stove. The bowl clattered onto Jim’s plate in a clash of ceramic against ceramic, the steaming pot placed on a heatproof mat in front of him. Coppery and dented, a ladle poked out from it, obviously made for scooping something up.

“Don’t worry Kid, Douxie told me you preferred troll foods - I took the liberty of digging up one of my Mother’s old soup recipes to make this one,” After patting Jim on the shoulder she waddled over and plopped herself down at the head of the table, taking in a deep inhale of the air. “I’d say ‘dig in’, but it seems most of you already have.”

Toby and Douxie sheepishly exchanged a glance, a fork midway to the Wizard’s lips. Nari continued to gobble up vegetables greedily, tomato seeds slurping down her throat. How so much food could fit inside such a small body, Jim didn’t want to know

Jim scooped up some of the dark green soup into his bowl, sniffing the earthy fragrance it gave off. It’s texture was rough and grainy, as if there was a load of sand mixed into it, even a few miniscule shavings of metal. It reminded him of a broth Blinky had made, back at the NJ Trollmarket - or as it was now officially named ‘New Hope Trollmarket’.

The meal went pretty well, light chatter filling the air as Douxie filled the Trollhunters in on what they’d been doing - which as it turned out, was a lot of sleeping, hiding, and keeping an eye out for the Arcane Order, who had not yet made any appearances.

Douxie swallowed a huge bite, savouring the salty taste. “When you called me a few days ago you said you needed our help with something?” He placed his cutlery vertical on his plate, finished. “Not that I’m bothered by you lot popping round, but why’d you need to see us?”

Slurping up a spoonful of the soup, Jim watched as Toby cleared his throat, face turning serious. His friend swallowed his mouthful with a huge gulp “It's uh, a bit of a long story, Doux,”

Nari stopped eating, and looked up at Jim with big, sorrowful eyes. One of her clawed hands gripped itself around his forearm. “Did someone get hurt?”

He shook his head. “No, no one got hurt, Nari,” Before he spoke, he took in a deep breath, grimacing and gazing into Douxie's eyes. “Someone’s stolen Excalibur.”


	2. NYC Gang, Part Two

  
  


“How on _ Earth  _ can the fabled Sword Excalibur go _ missing? _ ” Archie screeched, perched on the edge of the sofa in their living area.

Imagine the stereotypical grandparent’s lounge, except occupied by a talking cat, small demigod, one human, two wizards, and one half-troll. It was quite large, and Jim suspected it was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Underneath his bare feet the cream carpet was soft and plush, like it had been freshly vacuumed and conditioned, slipping between the three toes on his right foot, and the four toes on his left. 

Covered by a lacy white curtain, a window led out onto a fire escape and a pitch-black night punctuated by the lights of the street. Green vines and leaves climbed up the glass with a mind of their own, the plants placed on the windowsill no doubt belonging to Nari, who was tucked in the corner of the pink sofa with Archie. One light verdant hand stroked the cat’s back calmingly.

From the ceiling hung a line of golden lights, covered with blue shades and just low enough that Jim had to mind his headspace. To minimise any damage, he settled on a leather stool next to the coffee table and watched his girlfriend try to explain what had happened. Claire and Toby leaned against the wall, shoulder-to-shoulder with one another, idly gazing at Douxie, who paced the length of the room with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I don’t even know what really happened to be honest,” She said, running a hand through her let-down hair. “We had been keeping Excalibur locked inside a chamber in the Heartstone at NJ - no way in or out without the keys.”

“Let me guess-” Douxie threw his hands up in the air. “Someone got in anyway?”

Toby nodded. “Yeah - Me and Jimbo went in there a few days ago to check on it, and it was just gone!” He mimed a  _ ‘poof’ _ motion with his hands. “The stone was still there, though, so either this thief was worthy,”

“Or incredibly powerful,” Archie finished off glumly, pushing his glasses up his nose with a paw.

Nari straightened up in her seat, and the plants on the windowsill turned their leaves to face her as if they too were listening in. Her golden eyes were alit with worry, scanning across the room as if she thought the thief might be hiding underneath the patterned rug. “We need to find this person as soon as we can, before they can finish whatever it is they are planning.”

Just then, the white paneled door creaked open, and Bea came in with a tray of teacups and a teapot levitating in front of her. Each teacup was a different design and colour, mismatched with the others. It floated through the air jauntily until landing on the coffee table with a clattering bang, Jim’s ear flicking away from the sharp noise. 

“Ah, thanks Bea,” Douxie said, stopping his pacing to pour himself a nice cuppa. At the sweet scents, his whole body seemed to relax, if only slightly.

Bea didn’t come in, staying in the doorway with a dark coat falling from her shoulders to the floor. Her hair was tampered down by a tight red woolen hat, flowers stitched in different colours and sizes. As if she were going out to collect apples in the forest for her Grandmother, a woven handbasket was clutched by her side, beige and rustic. Bea waved at them all with a smile on her face, shutting the door behind herself softly, but not before she called out, “I’ve got to go get some shopping, kids, but I’ll be back soon!” It shut with a soft click, and when she next spoke, it was muffled by the wood. “Hope you enjoy the tea!”

Her interruption had caused a brief interlude in their serious conversation, and no one quite knew what to say. Cautiously, Jim took a sniff of the white china pot. It smelt like sweet and sour berries, something which Jim could still eat, so he began pouring it out into the mugs - a deep orangey-copper hue that swirled in the ceramics.

Steam formed above the tray like clouds, wispy in a tense silence, until someone spoke up.

Toby laughed nervously, leaning down to take a mug with pink flowers painted on the handle. “Surely they can’t actually do anything with the sword, though - I mean, Excalibur’s pretty cool, but it’s just a big sword, right?” He sipped his tea, waiting for a reply and watching the room over the rim. “R-right, guys?”

Douxie grimaced and set his teacup back down, as if the mention of the sword had soured it, and gesticulated with his hands as he talked. “In the physical sense, yes, it’s essentially just a sword. But in the  _ magical _ sense…” He scratched the back of his head. “It’s imbued with the power to absorb the magic around it, turning it into a beam that can be weaponised, much like how Arthur used it.”

He made eye contact with Archie, and they had a silent conversation with their eyes.

Claire plonked herself on the other stool at the coffee table next to Jim, leaning up against him. Her warm cheek was soft, like a cushion on his hard shoulder. He smiled softly, watching her sip some tea and sigh into the taste. “We’ve already searched the scene, so there’s not much point going back there, bu-”

The Wizard politely interrupted her. “Are you sure? I could cast a  _ revelare  _ spell-”

“Already done that, Teach.” She said, smirking.

“What about a _ perspecton _ ritual?”

“That too.” Claire stared at Douxie playfully over the rim of her tea.

Archie let out a dry chuckle, and licked his paw. “Seems your student is better than you think.” Switching to his dragon form, which had paws better for gripping, he took a mug which Nari handed up to him and began to lick the surface of the liquid to drink it up. 

“So,” Jim said. “Do you guys know of anyone who might’ve been after Excalibur? Or someone who might know a way of tracking the thief?”

Douxie pondered on it for a moment, before shaking his head.

Jim turned to the small demigod in her loose T-shirt and joggers. She looked juxtaposingly mundane. “Nari, could you sense their soul? Or maybe the power of Excalibur?”

She shook her head, braids flipping side to side. “If I knew who it was, I would be able to track their soul, but without a name or a picture of their face, they’re lost to me.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully, looking unfocused at the sofa she sat on. “But there may be another who we should find.” She said in an inquiring voice.

“Who?” Jim and Toby both asked, in sync with one another. Claire’s eyes lit up, and Jim could feel her body straighten up as she shot upwards, much like a student wanting to answer a question in class.

Claire grabbed onto Jim’s shoulder with excitement, startling him. “The Lady of the Lake! She’s the one who made Excalibur in the first place, remember?”

Whilst Claire had met the fabled Lady Nimueh, Jim had been getting kicked out of Dwoza by his surrogate Father, and therefore did not know much about the mythical figure. Except for when Steve went on a rant about how her tooth was now his weapon, which in all honesty, seemed a little unhygienic.

Douxie grinned with her, pumping a fist into the air. “Of course! Nari - could you track her soul?”

Her eyes glowed a violent green, though her smile was soft and innocent. “Yes - though I would like to finish my tea first.” She continued slurping it loudly, everyone else expectantly staring at her.

  
  


\--------------

Nari floated a good few feet off the ground in their living-room, everyone else standing about and watching in awe as verdant and golden light streamed through the air around her. Her eyes closed, the lids moving about as if beneath them eyes searched for something. Antlers tilted backwards, her face tipped up and she drifted a few inches higher before dropping once more to the floor slowly.

When her eyes opened, lids fluttering, the amber ring of an iris glowed up against dark green sclera.

Toby was the first to speak from where he was sinking into the pillows on the sofa next to Jim. “Uh, so did you find her?”

Nari nodded happily, folding her legs beneath her so that she could fall cross-legged on the floor. “I can sense her presence far away, across the seas to the East of this country.” 

“Aaanywhere a _ little _ more specific?” Douxie asked, when she didn’t elaborate any further.

She lit up giddily. “Oh! I believe it is called  _ England _ in this century, in a circular pool of water near the deep caverns of the Kelnek.” Lips pursed in concentration. “Though I do not know what the village on the surface is called.”

“ _ England? _ ” Jim spluttered, leaning forwards with wide eyes. Next to him, Toby gasped in excitement. He could hear Douxie whisper something along the lines of  _ ‘sounds familiar’. _

“ _ Woah _ , does this mean we get to go to London?” The ginger boy was almost bouncing in his seat.

Archie snorted, actually puffing out two tiny clouds of steam from his nostrils, since he was in a dragon form. “Yes, and whilst we’re there Jim, Nari and I can have a _ lovely _ stay in the Tower of London!” He drawled sarcastically, peering over the tops of his glasses. Toby shrunk away.

Claire tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, plus I doubt Nimueh’s going unseen if she was in the River Thames of all places.” She turned towards Nari with a sweet smile, which when Jim looked at it, brought a purple blush to his cheeks. “If I get a map open on my phone of England, do you think you can point out where these caverns of the ‘Kelnek’ are?”

One ask for a wifi code, and one Google Maps search later, Claire had a map of England up on the screen of her phone, which she passed to Nari. The demigod bit down on her lip as she zoomed in and out, reading the names of all the towns in whispers under her breath. A little grin spread across her face, and she gave the phone back to Claire, pointing at a drawing on the map of a reservoir. “There! It’s a village called  _ Che-ddar! _ ” The name of the village was clumsily spoken, as if she was confused by it. Jim assumed it was probably called something much different in the time of Camelot.

Douxie snapped his fingers. “I remember now - in the Cheddar Gorge caving systems,  _ that’s _ where the Kelnek live!”

“So are they a Troll clan?” Jim asked, making a mental note to ask Blinky if he’d heard of them later. Stifling a yawn, he hid his mouth behind his palm.

Archie nodded, midway through licking a paw. “I believe so, although we’ll have to travel by gyre to the village I’m afraid, since Claire won’t be able to make a portal without an emotional attachment at the other end.”

There was a collective groan that went through the room, except for Nari, whose face furrowed into confusion. “What is a gyre?”

Toby let out a deep and weary sigh. “Not something you want to take a ride on, magic plant lady. Trust me.”

\----------------

Jim’s phone dialed a few times before Blinky actually picked up, and the beeping noise was the only thing punctuating the silence in the room Bea had given Jim and Toby to sleep in.

It had thick blackout curtains to protect him from the rising sun, and no furniture except for a single bed, headboard up against the wall. The springs squeaked as he sat down on it audibly.

There was a crackle from the speakers before Blinky spoke. _ “Jim? Did you get to Douxie’s successfully?”  _ His voice was slightly strained, and Jim could hear lots of chatter in the background like he was somewhere crowded. He clicked the speaker button and put it down on the mattress next to himself, nonchalantly gazing at a painted portrait of a cat on the wall, beady brown eyes watching him. Jim was beginning to believe that all the pictures of cats around the house were enchanted to watch the residents, and report back to Bea like a troop of feline spies. He smiled at the entertaining thought, answering Blinky’s question.

“Yeah - a few hours ago. Turns out the place they’re staying at is ran by a wizard, so don’t worry about me revealing Trollkind to some poor human landlady.”

He hummed in amusement. _ “I suppose that is an upside- Oh for Glorkus sake, Malanor, watch where you’re going!” _ There was a muffled  _ ‘sorry’ _ , presumably from  _ ‘Malanor’ _ . Blinky scoffed.  _ “Apologies about that, Jim. Any news on Excalibur?” _

He clacked his fingers together in an attempt to dispel nervous energy. “Yeah, actually, we’re gonna take the gyre to visit the Lady of the Lake, since she’s the one who made the sword in the first place.”

_ “Ah, I see.” _ His voice had a hint of intrigue in it when he heard mention of such a legend. Jim could imagine, that if Blinky were to come with them, they wouldn’t be able to ask her many questions because Blinky would be more interested in pestering her about her point of view at Historical events. Perhaps it was best he had stayed at the Trollmarket, as much as Jim wished he were here.

“Apparently she’s near the caverns of the Kelnek - do you know who they are?” Downstairs, Jim could hear his friends clattering around the kitchen, probably looking for some snacks.

He seemed to ponder on that for a few seconds. _ “A little, though we haven’t had any contact with them in centuries, so my knowledge is limited.”  _ His voice turned serious.  _ “However, what they are known for is their hatred of humans - not as bad as the Gumm-Gumms but still rather intense, mind you.” _

“Probably best to try and avoid them then, I’m guessing.” He noted glumly, getting rather tired of human-hating magical creatures. Couldn’t they pick something more original to hate? Goblins maybe? Plants?

_ “Correct - “  _ There was a loud and clattering crash from Blinky’s end, making Jim jump away from the speakers. _ “-I’m really sorry Jim, but there is a rather pressing concern I must get back to,”  _ His Father’s voice was stressed and tense, an octave higher than it usually was.

“Don’t worry, I’ll call you when we get back?”

Blinky sighed in relief.  _ “That would be great, and remember to stay safe, my boy!”  _ The line clicked, and he hung up.

“Bye, then.” Jim said to the empty air.

He was about to put his phone back into his pocket when it buzzed, showing a text from his Mom. They texted almost every night, or phoned, but what with a mythical sword being stolen from right beneath their noses, he hadn’t had much time to talk.

**Mom :** _Hey baby, heard anything else about the thief? Walter says he can come and help you if you want. Love you Xx_

Jim was still getting used to the colloquial way which his Mom referred to his nemesis-turned-ally-turned-stepdad, though he refused to call him anything other than ‘Strickler’, or if he was feeling particularly playful, ‘Waltolemew’.

**Jim :** _ Haven’t got much on the thief, but we’re taking a trip to someone who might know a bit more - tell Waltolemew that we’ll be fine. Love you too Xx _

He slipped his phone into the pocket of his sweats, just as Toby came in with a sleeping bag.

“Finished calling Blinky? What’d he say?” Jim’s friend was changed into a set of red pyjamas, dotted with Gun-Robot themed motifs. Tobias Domzalski, slayer of Gumm-Gumms, wielder of the mighty Warhammer, Trollhunter, and all-around legend, wearing a set of kid’s jammies. The sight of him made his homesickness wane, just a little.

Jim caught the sleeping bag as it was thrown at him, barely stopping the yawn that escaped his mouth. “Blink said that those Kelnek trolls Nari mentioned  _ aren’t _ exactly nice.”

“Ugh...Really? Couldn’t they have been a clan of Trolls that believe in hugs and rainbows?”

“You know, I don’t think Trolls really have the same concept of affection for stuff like hugging…” Jim’s sentence drifted off, but he stopped himself before he could get distracted. “But anyway, Blinky said that these guys pretty much hate humans, but not so much that they’ll eat you or something.”

Toby shuddered. “ _ Maybe _ we should steer clear of them?”

Jim chuckled, unzipping the sleeping bag and laying it down on the floor next to the bed, which Toby was getting comfy in. “I’m gonna have to agree with you on that one, Tobes.”

Once the sleeping bag was laid out over the carpet, he changed into his own pyjamas - by pyjamas he meant a pair of blue sweatpants - and laid down on his front. As it turns out, having horns that poked out the top of your head made it a bit hard to sleep on your back, so he turned his head to the side, eyes falling closed. He watched Toby lazily as he snuggled beneath a duvet, although he found himself unbothered by any cold, perfectly content with no blanket to cover him.

“Night Tobes.”

“Night Jimbo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaay, England, land of rain and Boris Johnson.
> 
> UUuuuuh, hope you enjoyed this, I LIVE for when people ask me questions about my work in the comments, so if you have any questions or things you want to know please ask!!!
> 
> If you enjoyed, LEAVE A COMMENT OR KUDOS!!!!!! IT'S POLITE!!!!
> 
> Edit : Unfortunately, I'm not feeling very motivated to continue this fic, and I dont see it really going that far, so It will most likely be discontinued. Sorry.


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